The London Guantánamo has been campaigning since 2006 for the return of all British residents from the Guantánamo Bay prison camp, the release of all prisoners, the closure of this prison and other similar prisons and an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition. Human rights for all.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The first round of
periodic review board hearings and recommendations to see whether prisoners who
have not been charged or approved for release can be released or continue to be
held as “forever prisoners” concluded in November with a Saudi prisoner being
cleared for release through this administrative procedure. Jabran Qahtani, 39,
who has been held at Guantánamo since 2002 became the 21st prisoner cleared for release. An
engineering graduate, he was initially charged at Guantánamo but legal
proceedings were quickly dropped. He has been recommended for transfer to Saudi
Arabia only. At the same time, the board rejected the release of Yemeni
prisoner Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, 47. He will come
before the review board for a second hearing on 8 December.

At the same time, as those prisoners whose
pleas for release were rejected by the board in the first round generally had
to wait 6 months before being entitled to appear before the board again, the
second round of hearings started in early November with Yemeni Salman Yahya
Hassan Mohammad Rabei'i, who arrived at Guantánamo aged just 22 in 2002 the
first person to have a second hearing.

The review is also
expected to rehear the case of the oldest prisoner at Guantánamo, 69-year old
Pakistani Saifulla Paracha soon. His case was rejected in April and is now due
for rehearing. Deemed a continuing threat at his last hearing, Paracha has
diabetes and a heart condition.

The US
authorities are currently trying to have one Malaysian and one Indonesian
prisoner sent to Malaysia. In the case of the Indonesian, Hambali, allegedly
the mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings, his US lawyers are asking
Australia to take him and try him for the case. The US cannot try him due to
the extreme torture he has suffered following his 2003 kidnapping and in Malaysia
he is unlikely to receive a fair trial and is likely to face the death penalty
as well. Considered a dangerous terrorist, he has never been charged and any
confessions he has made were under duress of torture.

On 14 November, in its annual Preliminary Examination Report on
Afghanistan, the International Criminal Court stated that the Office of The
Prosecutor has determined that there are credible grounds to believe and
investigate that war crimes have been committed in Afghanistan by the Taleban, Afghan
intelligence authorities and the police, other government and independent
militias and “US military forces deployed to
Afghanistan and in secret detention facilities operated by the Central
Intelligence Agency, principally in the 2003-2004 period, although allegedly
continuing in some cases until 2014.” An investigation is likely into the crimes
against humanity, including torture and ill-treatment committed by the parties.

Since 2009, Spain’s Supreme Court had been
investigating torture claims brought against Bush-era officials by former
Guantánamo prisoners under Spain’s universal jurisdiction laws, which allow
crimes against humanity, such as torture, to be tried there even though they
were not committed in the state due to their severity. Due to changes in the
law restricting such claims the court finally ruled, following many appeals that
it does not have the power to try such claims and closed the case. At the same time, Spain’s own
complicity in Guantánamo continues as two former prisoners remain in jail there
on dubious charges (and a conviction in one case) related to the ongoing
conflict in Syria.

Documents revealed through a freedom of
information lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union show that the
US Federal Bureau of Prisons visited the CIA’s secret torture facilities in Afghanistan
in 2002 at the expense of the US taxpayer, was aware of the torture there and
tried to cover up the visit. Two employees were sent to the Afghan facilities
and later praised these torture jails where prisoners were kept shackled to
walls or the floor in complete darkness.

The November Shut
Guantánamo demonstration was replaced by a special demonstration to coincide
with the US presidential elections. The LGC was not surprised by the election
of Donald Trump and will wait to see what policies he has with respect to
Guantánamo as of January 2017. Barack Obama has failed to close Guantánamo and
it is unlikely that any new president is likely to
implement positive change in this respect. A report of the demonstration at
which we were joined by around 30 people and had a number of speakers from
other campaigns: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/unfinished-business-8-november.html

The last Shut
Guantánamo! Demo of 2016 and under Barack Obama’s presidency is on Thursday 1 December
at 12-1pm outside the US Embassy London and 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker’s
Corner, Marble Arch, Hyde Park: https://www.facebook.com/events/1848615888716694/

The LGC
(@shutguantanamo) is continuing to hold weekly #GitmObama Twitter storms to
raise awareness about Guantánamo prisoners every Monday at 9pm BST. The pastebin
is available http://pastebin.com/zpx5F7ab
which is updated weekly with the latest information and tweets to raise
awareness about Guantánamo. Please join us online if you can!

Wednesday, November 09, 2016

In 2008 and 2012, on the day of the US presidential election,
the London Guantánamo Campaign (LGC) held demonstrations outside the US Embassy
in London to call for the closure of Guantánamo Bay and to raise awareness of
issues of joint human rights concern for the UK and US such as the Extradition
Act 2003. The protests held were not against the US election or any of the
candidates at any point. The LGC has, over its 10-year history, held frequent
demonstrations right outside the entrance of the US Embassy. Nonetheless this
year, even before Donald Trump was elected, the US Embassy decided to contain
peaceful human rights activists on the far corner of the US Embassy (opposite
to where we usually and have previously gathered) away from where the public,
and particularly those entering the embassy, could see them. The message was
clear: in the new US political era, human rights will remain marginal,
allocated to an unseen corner, if at all.

Maya Evans, VCNV UK

Around 30 people joined the protest. In spite of the small
and peaceful nature of the protest, the embassy was cleared intimidated enough
by its message to attempt to contain and marginalise it. The message itself was
one of solidarity with political prisoners and the 60 men who remain at
Guantánamo Bay after almost 15 years.

Asif Uddin, Justice 4 Anis

Activists and campaigns who joined the demonstration
included Maya Evans from Voice for Creative
Non-Violence UK who spoke about the proliferation of US military bases
around the world and particularly in Japan and a forgotten but central issue of
this presidential campaign: the war in Afghanistan. Asif Uddin from the Justice 4 Anis campaign, for Anis Sardar, a
British national serving a life sentence for the murder of a US soldier in Iraq
in a highly unusual case, spoke about his plight; last week, Anis Sardar lost
an appeal in his case. The Guantánamo Justice Campaign also spoke about the British government and Guantánamo.

David Allen from WISE Up for Chelsea Manning

Solidarity was also shown by Men’s Payday and WISE Up for Chelsea Manning with Wikileaks
whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Manning is currently serving a 35-year sentence
for revealing some of the war crimes of the Bush administration; on the other
hand, no Bush era officials have ever been prosecuted, let alone convicted and
tortured as she has. Placed in solitary confinement in October for attempting
suicide in jail, it has recently been revealed that she has attempted to commit
suicide again while in solitary and is likely to be punished again for this. Calls
have been made for Barack Obama to grant
Manning clemency before he leaves office in January 2017.

Men are not the only victims of the war on terror: an
exclusive statement was read out on behalf of Dr Fowzia Siddiqui, the sister of
Dr
Aafia Siddiqui who “disappeared” for 5 years in 2003 with her 3 young
children. It is believed she was held at Bagram during that time. Her youngest
child, aged 6 months when he “disappeared” has never been found. Dr Aafia
Siddiqui is currently serving 86 years for assaulting US military staff and
having a weapon in her possession:

“It is an honor for me to address such a distinguished
audience.

You are great people, people who give life and courage to
people like us.

You are the courageous few who have the will to speak up
against a wrong and help humanity regardless of who the perpetrator is.

It is the efforts of people like you that today Moazzam
Baig, Binyam Mohamed, Agha Musavi, Aafia's babies Ahmed and Maryam and hundreds
of other illegal detainees are safely with their families. But still there
remains much to be done each release carrying its bitter sweet moments.
Beautiful lives wasted in torture cells without any justification ever, not
even remorse.

On behalf of Aafia's family I want to thank you for being
here, thank you for showing you care, thank you for renewing our faith in
humanity. One more year of grief, struggle and hope is passing by. A total of
13years of an ordeal so outrageous and overwhelming, that when asked to comment
on how we as a family are coping, my first reaction was its 13 years too long,
that says it all.

I don't have words to thank the organisers for the
efforts that have been put in this initiative to raise their voice for those
innocent souls who are left to die in the world’s most horrific torture chambers
designed by a super power that claims to champion human rights.I do not have the words to thank all of you
who have gathered here to show that you care. Indeed you are the few that make
history by helping an innocent soul and raising your voice. May Allah put his
Barakat in this mobilisation and grant Aafia and all innocent detainees the
freedom they deserve. Ameen.

Though my words fail me I know my Allah will not and I
pray he showers his blessings on you all and reward you immensely. May Allah
keep you safe happy and successful. Ameen.”

Noel Hamel from the LGC

The outcome of the US presidential election is irrelevant to the prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. It is unlikely that Barack Obama will succeed in closing Guantánamo by
the time he leaves office in January 2017 or that Donald Trump has plans to close Guantánamo. Human rights have been a
non-issue in this presidential campaign. Nonetheless the London Guantánamo
Campaign will continue to campaign for the release of the remaining 60
prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. Thank you to everyone who joined us

Tuesday, November 08, 2016

When
elected in 2008, Obama pledged to close Guantánamo, but Guantánamo remains
business as usual. Prisoner releases slowed to a trickle, kangaroo 'justice'
persists with indefinite detention without trial for many who remain.
Force feeding, beatings and brutality continue. In the presidential
campaign neither of the two main candidates has addressed this issue.
Guantanamo’s closure is not imminent…

The London Guantánamo Campaign invites
you to join us for a demonstration:

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

on the evening of the US presidential
election,

Tuesday 8 November 2016

At 6-8pm

Outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square,
London

with Open Mic

In addition, the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner has
continued the USA’s never-ending wars, continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
and bombing Libya and Syria with its European allies, including Britain.
President Obama has shown himself to be particularly fond of remote control
deaths by drone strikes.

A number of human rights issues of joint UK-US
concern also continue, such as the one-sided extradition treaty Britain made
with the US in 2003.

If you represent an organisation that wishes to raise a human rights issue of joint UK-US interest at our demonstration, please get in touch.

For more details, e-mail london.gtmo@gmail.com or contact 07809 757 176

Take action!

We hold a regular monthly demonstration calling for the closure of Guantánamo Bay. Our March demonstration is on Thursday 8 March at 12-2pm outside the US Embassy, 33 Nine Elms Ln, London SW11 7US: https://www.facebook.com/events/975903689224552/

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About Me

The London Guantánamo Campaign has been campaigning since 2006 for the return of all British residents from the Guantánamo Bay prison camp, the release of all prisoners, the closure of this prison and other similar prisons and an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition. Also on Facebook and Twitter.